Before the 2008 NFL season, Mike Smith, the Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive coordinator, was hired to be the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. They had only won four games the previous year and Coach Smith was charged with improving the culture and turning the team around. As summer approached, Coach Smith called me and told me that he was having all the coaches and players read my book The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy and invited me to speak to the team during training camp. I had met Coach Smith the year before while speaking to the Jacksonville Jaguars during their 2007 training camp.
The same week that I was to speak to the Atlanta Falcons I was also scheduled to speak to a financial services company that was regarded by many as having the best sales team in the financial industry. As I prepared for these talks I thought a lot about what I should say that would benefit them. After all, I would be talking to people who have reached the pinnacle of their industry. On one hand you had the best football players in the world. On the other hand you had the best sales people in the world.
As part of my preparation I interviewed the top sales people from the financial services company and while I was expecting to hear some new sales techniques that I haven't heard before I discovered there wasn't any secret formula to their success. They told me they simply worked hard, focused on the fundamentals, stayed positive and had a great desire to succeed and make an impact. It was the same things I had heard from the best professional athletes I knew and from all the people I had interviewed over the years that were considered the best in their field.
This inspired a series of thoughts about what makes someone great in their field of work. I discovered that the best of the best, whether they're a sales person, athlete, teacher, nurse, entrepreneur, musician, etc, share a number of similar characteristics. There is a formula for success. There are things that the best do that others don't and things that they do better than everyone else. There is a way that the best of the best approach their life and work and craft that differentiates themselves from others. And this formula is predictable, repeatable and simple to understand. But it's a process and it requires initiative, dedication, focus and loads of positive energy.
As I left the Falcons Training Camp after my talk and headed to the airport the idea for this book popped into my head. I heard the words Training Camp loud and clear, from God's mouth to my ears. I knew I was supposed to share the principles and lessons in this book, not with just athletes but with anyone, in any field who strived to be their best. While this story takes place in a sports setting, I hope you realize it's a life story that applies to you, your team, your co-workers, your family and kids.
I have even shared the lessons from this book with my daughter Jade and son Cole. My hope is that when they are in high school and college this book will serve as a playbook for their lives and inspire them to strive for excellence in whatever career path they choose.
In this spirit, as you go through the training camp of your life, I hope that wherever you are on your journey, that this book will also inspire you to strive to be your best and bring out the best in your team—your work team, your sports team, your family team, your church team, and your school team. After all, life is a team sport.
Leave a Legacy,
Jon